Are the new generic omperazole pills as effective as prilosec otc. I tried wallgreens version.?

Question

walllgreens omperazole did not seem as effective as prilosec otc. is there any difference in the effectiveness between generic or brand name? is the quality control of generics not as good. Even though the price of generics over the counter are less, is it more prudent to spend a little more for the brand name because quality control my be better. I heard with generics that you might not be getting as much active ingredient in the pill as they advertised. I might just stick with prilosec next time.

Answer 1

I have been using Prilosec OTC for over 5 years now, and it has worked perfectly for my particular problems.  Tonight I was at Walmart and saw that they had a generic version under their equate brand simple called Omeprazole 20mg.  But what was missing on the box was the phrase "compare to Prilosec OTC active ingredients".

Now, I buy a few equate brand products at walmart on a regular basis.  The generic fiber pills I buy say "compare to Citrucel active ingredients", the generic vitamins say "compare to Centrum active ingredients", and the generic Ibuprofen says "compare to Advil active ingredients".  So why was this phrase missing from the Omeprazole package?

Well, I did some internet searching tonight and found out a few things.  First of all, over 97% of all the consumer reviews that I read were negative.  Then I read the following on a site called MedTv:

"Generic Prilosec OTC

Technically. there are no generic versions of Prilosec OTC (which contains omeprazole magnesium). Generic omeprazole 20 mg OTC tablets are available, but they cannot be considered to be strictly equivalent to Prilosec OTC (they contain omeprazole, not omeprazole magnesium). Most healthcare providers (and consumers) would agree that this difference is not important for most people. For practical purposes, the generic versions should be considered to be equivalent to Prilosec OTC."

So this seems to indicate that it is not the exact same product, but that for most people it should not make much of a difference.  But again, from what I have read so far there seems to be a very noticeable difference.  Obviously even for a decent product you are going to find a fair amount of negative reviews online.  But 97% negative out of a sample of at least a hundred means there is almost definetely something valid about the complaints.

And the person who posted this question alos seems to confirm that the generics are not as good by stating that they "did not seem as effective."

So for now I am sticking with the Prilosec OTC.  I'll pay the extra $6 for 42 pills, which is the current price difference at Walmart, at least until I start seeing that the ACTIVE ingredients are the exact same.  Then I might give them a try.

Answer 2

There is absolutely no difference in the effectiveness of a generic medicine compared to a brand name. The formulation may vary in terms of amounts of inactive ingredients (fillers, lubricants etc) however the ratio to active will be the same as the brand name.

Additionally, Generics medicines have to go through the same stringent quality control measures as any other pharmaceutical company, including bioequivalence studies proving that the generic is equivalent to the brand leader.

The only difference is price!

Answer 3

there is a slight chemical difference between a generic med & the name brand.  use the product that benefits you best.  if you find that you are using Prilosec often, see your doctor.